


little talks

by thatapostateboy



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Feelings, Implied Sexual Content, Love Bites, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 13:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14426340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatapostateboy/pseuds/thatapostateboy
Summary: From the prompt; 'love bites or holding hands'Mass Effect AU where the Ryder twins never go to Andromeda and instead join the Normandy Crew during the Reaper War.Nora Shepard and Sam Ryder, who have been in a casual relationship for a while have a conversation about feelings and the future.





	little talks

Shepard groaned softly as she woke up, realising that the warm presence beside her had moved, her wandering hand only grasping at empty sheets. She opened her eyes to the dim light of her room, lit only by the few lamps that she hadn’t turned off before sleep. Movement caught her eye and she turned her gaze to the obscured figure by her desk.

“Admiring my collection?” she asked, laughing softly to herself as she watched Ryder jump.

“I thought you were still asleep,” she said.

“Right back at you,” Shepard shrugged, “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Kept trying to sneak out, but you’re a persistent cuddler,” Ryder hummed, “Was going to steal a few moments in your amazing shower that Traynor won’t shut up about then leave, but your models caught my eye. It’s an incredible collection.”

“I’ve always loved model ships,” she admitted, “But never had anywhere to store them until they rebuilt the Normandy. Started collecting properly when I was fighting the Collectors… You didn’t have to sneak out, you know.”

“I know,” she sighed, “Still felt like I should though.”

“Come back to bed.”

“Is that an order, Commander?”

Shepard could imagine the smirk that was playing on Ryder’s lips perfectly.

“What would you do if it was?” she laughed.

“Ignore you. I’m not Alliance, remember?”

“Enough people owe me favours, I could get you reinstated if you wanted,” she offered, “You and your brother.”

“I’d follow you into hell itself, you know that, and the way this war is going I know that one day I will. And I know what the Alliance means to you, but it means nothing to me, not anymore. They turned their back on Scott and I, blackmarked us for what our Dad did, took away everything we’d worked so hard for…”

Finally, Ryder moved, stepping around the side of the display cabinet so that she could face Shepard. The Commander let out a soft breath as she looked at her, wearing nothing but her briefs with Shepard’s N7 hoody wrapped around her, hanging loose on the younger woman’s smaller frame.

“Hey,” Shepard said softly, “Come here.”

Ryder padded quietly towards her, crawling back into bed. Shepard wrapped her arms around her, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder.

“Shep, I should go…” she whispered, looking at her, but she was shushed by the gentle touch of lips on hers.

“You should stay.”

“The crew will gossip,” Ryder said, giggling quietly as Shepard rolled on top of her, pushing her back into the pillows. Shepard kissed her again, her lips trailing a line across her jaw and down to her neck where she kissed at Ryder’s sensitive skin, nipping and sucking lightly.

“Let them,” Shepard murmured against her skin, “I want them to know that you’re mine.” Ryder felt a shiver go up her spine at Shepard’s words, letting out a soft moan as she felt the older woman very obviously sucking a sizeable hickey on the side of her neck now. Shepard gave a low laugh, “You like that, don’t you? Everyone being able to tell that we’re together.”

“Like it? Are you kidding? I feel like standing on top of the Presidium and yelling it for the entire Citadel to hear,” Ryder told her as she tilted her head to give Shepard access to her neck, trying to keep her breathing steady as Shep’s previous words echoed in her mind, “So… _together_? Is that what this is?”

Shepard rested her face in the crook of Ryder’s neck for a moment, “Look, Sam, I… I like you. A lot. And don’t get me wrong, the sex is great, and it felt good knowing that there was no commitment, that there was someone I trusted that I could relax and unwind with, help distract my mind from the war, but… I want more than a distraction, because to me you’re more than that. You’re beautiful, and clever, and a damn stubborn pain in my ass sometimes, but you’re the only person I want at my side. You’re right, this war is going to take us all to hell and back, and I don’t want to regret a single night when I could have had you right here. When I’m with you, I can think about everything outside of this war, I think about the moments of peace in between, and what could come after. I think about taking you out for dinner, seeing you in a nice dress, falling asleep next to you after a long day, having something _normal_ … But if you don’t…”

Ryder ran a hand through Shepard’s short hair, tilting her head up so that their eyes met, kissing her hard on the lips, “I want that too.”

Shepard grinned against her mouth as she kissed her back, then resumed her task of sucking love bites across Ryder’s neck and collarbone. As things grew more heated, Ryder moved to pull off Shepard’s hoody, only to have Shepard grab her hands and pin them above her head.

“Keep it on,” she murmured, nipping at Ryder’s lower lip.

Ryder smirked smugly to herself, “Yes ma’am.”

***

Ryder awoke the next morning tucked safely in Shepard’s warm embrace, the hoodie still wrapped around her shoulders. Shepard awoke soon after, smiling when she realised that Ryder was still there.

“Good morning,” Shepard greeted her with a sleepy kiss.

“Good morning,” Ryder whispered back, brushing Shepard’s hair out of her eyes.

“I’m going to hop in the shower, then we should grab some breakfast,” Shep said, pressing a kiss to her forehead before sliding out from under the covers. Ryder relaxed back in the pillows, watching her naked girlfriend head into the bathroom.

Her girlfriend, Commander Nora Shepard.

She was officially dating Commander _fucking_ Shepard.

Scott was going to be so jealous. She couldn’t wait to rub his face in it.

The bathroom door opened again and she could hear the shower still running, “Just because you’re my girlfriend now, doesn’t mean that you have to skip out on shower quickies.”

Ryder grinned to herself, practically falling out of bed in her haste. She loved having a girlfriend.

***

Scott glanced around the mess hall with a frown. Sam was late for breakfast, which was completely unlike her. She was usually the one dragging him out of his bunk ‘to get a good start to the day’. He grabbed his tray of food and sat down by Traynor.

“Hey Traynor, where’s Sammy things morning?” he asked.

She sipped on her mug of tea, “Not a clue. I presumed she was on late duty in the lab with Dr T’Soni last night because she never came to bed, and she wasn’t there this morning. Maybe she fell asleep at her desk.”

“Maybe,” he said, shovelling a mouthful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, them all nearly falling back out again as two figures left the elevator, “I don’t think it was her desk she fell asleep at.”

A small hush fell over the mess hall as Shepard and Sam entered, both freshly showered, holding hands, Sam’s neck very obviously covered in love bites. They stopped dead in their tracks when they realised everyone was looking at them.

“You guys not got anything better to look at?” Shepard quirked an eyebrow and the regular hum of chatter came back over the room as everyone went back to their own business. She pressed a kiss to Sam’s cheek, “Grab us a seat, I’ll get us some food.”

Sam nodded, sliding into a seat next to Traynor and opposite her brother, “Good morning.”

Scott gave her a knowing look, “So the casual, quick time, no strings attached fling that you thought you were having…?”

“Over and done with. We’re _together_ together. Like we’re already planning our first date _together_.”

“You lucky son of a bitch,” Scott hummed with laughter, “Not only are you now dating your hero, you’re dating _everyone’s_ hero. Everyone is going to be so jealous.”

“Even you?”

“I’m jealous of your meaningful relationship with the person of your dreams, but apart from that; I’m happy for you Sammy.”

“There’s someone out there for you too, Scott,” Traynor said.

“Oh really? Look at me, I’m already 22, I’m going to die an old bitter spinster,” he sighed over dramatically.

“Y’know, _Engineer Ryder_ ,” Shepard smiled as she sat down, sliding Sam’s breakfast in front of her, “If you stopped wallowing in your self pity for two seconds, you’d realise that there’s someone on this ship who would be interested.”

“I’m flattered, Commander, really, but you’re dating my sister now, and you’re not really my type-” Scott snorted with laughter, earning an eye roll from Shepard.

“I’m being serious, kid.”

“And who might that be?”

“Vega,” Sam told him as if it were obvious.

“Yeah sure, as if James Vega would be interested in…” he trailed off, catching the eye of the three women all looking at him, “Oh shit, wait, you’re serious?”

“Come on, Scott, even I can tell there’s chemistry there,” Traynor said, “All the time you spend together in the hangar.”

“Working out and helping maintain the weapons,” he shrugged.

“And all the time he spends in engineering?” Shepard asked

“He’s got a lot of stories to tell, and I like to hear them.”

Sam sighed, “And the drinks you’ve been for the last three times we stopped at the Citadel?”

“I…” the protest fell from Scott’s tone, “Oh shit.”

He glanced around at Vega who sat two tables behind them, chatting away with Joker about the best way to make eggs. When Vega caught his eye, he smiled, causing Scott to blush a little to himself, turning back around with a wide grin.

He picked up his cup of coffee, drained it in a manner of mouthfuls and stood, “If you ladies will excuse me, I’ve got a guy to ask out.”

Sam and Shepard glanced at each other, sipping at their own coffees as they watched the discussion from afar, taking in Scott’s slightly nervous body language that melted away into confidence as they saw Vega nod. Sam slid her fingers into between Shepard’s, clasping tight to her hand, smiling to herself as Shepard squeezed it back.

This was what it was all about. The little moments of peace.


End file.
